


fourteen.heltic

by valvet



Category: Doom Patrol (TV)
Genre: How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:15:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23658970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valvet/pseuds/valvet
Summary: (verb) acting to drag out or draw out
Kudos: 3





	fourteen.heltic

**Author's Note:**

> might fuck around and make my dpsona better and sexier idk, anyways watch me not address eric morden as mr nobody for fun and have eric not be able to function when not being able to predict or know what people are doing.

For the most part, Eric Morden preferred to snoop through other people's memories, after all, other people had more interesting stories to tell than his own; which at this point he could tell without even glancing about. However, trying to comb through random people’s thoughts and feelings just to find at least a hint on where Niles was becoming boring to him. Not that he didn't want to absolutely destroy Niles from the inside out, of course, he did! But, it did grow tiresome seeing the same old story over and over again; like one of those Hallmark movies that had the same cutout plot, just with mildly different faces. Ah, did he wish he could tell people's faces apart anymore, they instead blurred together into a mixture of flesh and eyes nowadays. However, as he sat there, thinking about which randomly selected person he could attempt to use as a tool to get his way, he felt a shift in the air. 

The White Space, for all of his time, never got visitors; unless Eric brought them there. But when somebody was to show up, the air would shift slightly--he definitely hadn't even decided on anybody yet. He took his eyes off his magazine and looked about, he didn't see anybody, nor did he feel them--he couldn't feel their feet against The White Space’s floor, nor could he sense any body temperature. But Eric Morden wasn't an idiot, he knew somebody had to be there, right? That's how the rules of The White Space work! At least the rules he set up himself, hell maybe the rules were changing and he just didn't catch the memo--

That's until he saw a familiar face, albeit one that had aged and definitely wasn't the man he knew all those years ago; at first, he didn't react, instead pretending deep down this was just his brain getting the better of him. But alas, he finally reacted and slammed his papers down, the man was immediately held down by the air around him; his obnoxiously large circular black glasses moving around slightly, but not enough to fall off. 

“How did you get in here?” Eric snapped, standing up awkwardly as he tried to get a hold on himself--he vaguely remembered this man's face, albeit it was hard to decipher, his old memories had long since left him for the most part, but he knew he had met him. This was usually the easiest part of his powers! Why couldn't he remember this tacky older man? The man sighed and let out a breathy chuckle, before suddenly breaking free--

Shit. 

“No idea for the most part, kinda just fell asleep and ended up here--usually it's pretty dark, didn't know I had a butler to turn on the lights for me,” his voice didn't sound right, even to Eric’s standards of insanity, like his voice didn't match his face or the fact that when he spoke it was like a record was skipping the groove on it. Not to say that he was worried--well he was, considering he had broken the first law of The White Space’s logic; that he who found it first, has control over it. Or in simpler terms, it's his damn house and only he can change the furniture. No, instead he was intrigued, usually, the people he met, at least before Niles took off and decided to not make any more public appearances, were quite boring, but his face did not blend in, his mouth seemed to have many teeth his skin a bit too white and pasty and his joints cracking more often than any normal human beings should. 

“Well--you shouldn't be here,” he stopped for a moment, “what the hell do you mean by dark? Like pitch black in here?” The man nodded, straining his head a bit.

“Yeah, I mean--in the distance, I saw white but that might be an eyesight problem not a weird pocket universe thing” Nice to know he had a bit of common sense, Eric tilted his head--shadows didn't exist in The White Space, even he didn't have one, all darkness was sent back out of it and into the world he presumed, unless...Eric thought for a moment, his brain frazzled within his limitless knowledge, it took him a while to find what he was looking for, in that time he probably looked like he was taking a stroke but once he found what he sought for--a word to put to the idea he perked up and grinned. 

“Ah I see, you’re talking about The Black Space, aren't you? Hm, strange really, thought you'd be able to tell the difference between black and white but apparently not,” Eric’s smug and demeaning aura returned as soon as he knew what he was talking about, the man rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Don't really have to pay attention to the colors, it just--tells me which direction to go to” the man paused, Eric finally decided it would be a good time to at least take a peek into his mind, after all, he was a freshly bought book just waiting to be ruined with age, why not have a bit of fun? But yet, as he opened him up, all he saw was the endless blackness, and he shut him tight again. Through the black, he could see vague ideas of memories and feelings, psychology even! But it was all overlayed with a coat of the void, nothing scared him, Mr. Nobody, the big bad villain wasn't scared of anything! But the darkness saw right through him, perched his heart and sent him right back to where he was. 

Eric was caught off guard by the man laughing, before standing up, his height was something to be ashamed of, the man only sitting around 5’0 ft. However, parts of his body seemed, longer than they should have been, his fingers for the most part. He grinned with way too many teeth and put a hand on Eric’s shoulder the best he could

“Have we met before?” His voice rang through the white around them and Eric clicked his tongue

“Maybe, my gut is telling me we have--what's your name? That's a better question” Making small talk felt so difficult when you didn't have all the cards in your hands. 

“Hm, names Cain, last name I can't remember, way too old to try to keep up with that y'know?” Eric didn't remember anybody named that, except for the biblical version of that name but--

But he did remember a man with an equally stranger named Cecil, an awkward short man with big rimmed glasses when he was Eric Morden, the also awkward man he was, they had talked for a while due to job-related reasons, became close friends and--

Eric smiled from ear to ear and grabbed Cain by the shoulder, which definitely seemed to scare him a bit considering the furrowing of his brow. 

“Oh, I remember you now” his tone dark as he bent over, closer to his ear than he ever managed when he was Eric Morden. “Cecil” Eric could feel his ex-lover's body begin to twitch, the gooseflesh around his slightly exposed neck showing as he finally pulled away. Cecil’s face was for sure flustered, however not for long it seemed when he burled up his fists. 

“Eric Morden, you little fucking shit, you slimy little rat” Cecil ran his fingers through his hair, swearing in Yiddish under his breath before laughing, odd, even stranger was when he hugged him. Physical affection was something he had not felt since--a long while and at that he pushed him away, not feeling unclean but good in the wrongest way. 

“Thank God it was you! I could almost smell it was you from those shit smelling pits of yours, ah? If it was some scary eldritch horror I'd have to piss myself, yknow?” He sat back down and gestured down to Eric’s chair, “cmon now, we got a lot to catch up on ah?” Eric wasn't a soft man however and grabbed Cecil by the collar, his body weightless to him, perhaps from The White Space or from Cecil’s anomalous properties. His teeth bare as he pressed him up into the soil air of the white. 

“How in the name of God are you doing this? I thought you died from an STD, not became a freak!” He spat, Cecil relaxed and shrugged. 

“I was dying from an STD, but I didn't--mostly due to becoming this thing here” He gestured down with his eyes at himself, a stupid grin on his face, Eric was gonna wipe the floors with him. “I thought you died when you left and went to Paraguay to hang out with a shoemaker! Especially after the whole--” Eric glared at him and Cecil took the hint and sighed, “well yknow--the point is I'm not dead, still have no idea how exactly I'm doing this” Oh for sure he didn't, Eric scoffed and put him down, however still backing him into a wall, if he couldn't use mental torture than he could at least try to seem bigger than him and back him into a corner. 

“Oh sure, then how the hell did you go from dying to what? A multidimensional omnipresent jackass like I am?” Cecil laughed, wagging a finger at him. 

“At least you can be honest about yourself--uh but it's..difficult to explain'' Eric stepped closer, but Cecil surprisingly enough didn't budge. Back before The White Space and the heartbreak, Eric and Cecil used to play a game of courage, one person was to be backed into a corner and the person receiving it lost any time they became distressed or in most cases, flustered. Eric reigned supreme at it until this very moment when Cecil just crossed his arms. 

“No really, I'm still trying to pick up the puzzle pieces of what exactly happened,” Eric groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose before grabbing Cecil by the shoulder.

“Then can I use my omnipresent jackass powers to get in your head?” Silence fell between them, finally. It was surprisingly calming, Eric usually hated how quiet it got, but that was quickly destroyed by Cecil’s high pitched honest laughter, he grabbed at Eric’s shirt and patted him on the back, face not necessarily red with hysterics, but instead blue with genuine emotion. Then it stopped as quickly as the silence left

“Not in a million years, have no idea whatever the hell you are on about and in all honesty, don't want to” Cecil was definitely smarter than most “people'' he met, but he still could try to get to him. 

“Oh please, I’m your friend, remember?” Eric tried to seem like he had the most innocent intentions, but his face resembled one of a serial killer on a murder high as he smiled ever so wrongly. “Remember when you used to pay for my food at those god awful restaurants that you insisted on going to? Then, later on, I'd let you vomit in my toilet because it gave you food poisoning?” Albeit, he didn't have many more memories than he could dig up right now that wasn't tragic. Not to say he didn't have good ones, of course, he did! But with his backstory, it was clouded in his protective fog, even to the man who created it he couldn't breakthrough

“I do, but still, Eric I don't know how to make it leave! If you are so wanting for why the fuck I look like this, here's a sentence. I got fucked while in a quantum physics lab and accidentally entered into the darkness below our worlds and now I have god awful bones, got that? Cause that's all I fucking remember!” Cecil’s words were so calmly delivered, even if his voice cracked with rage every few sentences. Eric rolled his eyes, it was the best he could get, trying to prod at him meant more talking about complete nonsense and he already felt like he was having his blood drained just by attempting to gain information out of him. 

“Fine, I'll take that--but I do have one important question, have you met anybody by the name of Niles Caulder?” He asked, and something clicked with him, his eyebrows raised and his body movements became slower. But before Cecil could even answer, Eric laughed, clasping his hands together in evil delight; “finally! It's taken me long enough to get somebody, how much do you hate him? Put it on a scale of one to Ronald Regan '' He sat back on his chair, stretching out his long limbs as he finally felt some delight. 

“He was working at the lab I was at when it happened, also afterward he tried to make me join his cult but y'know, decided not to, can't deal with myself being an emotional wreck, having to deal with other people like that? Eh, a bit too difficult for my liking” Cecil more or less complained, pacing back and forth in an assumed state of mania; or at least that's what Eric could try to infer. 

“Still, do you hate him?” Eric didn't mean to sound annoyed, even within his non-existent heart that he pulled out long ago when brought with somebody so close to him someone had seen him vulnerable, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of pity for him. Cecil’s face has sunken in, a beard that didn't seem to match his face and cracked nail polish, even if he couldn't speak into his head and decipher his psychology, Eric could tell that he definitely wasn't okay. Cecil finally turned his attention to him and let out a deep growl from his throat

“What do you think smartass?” he said through gritted teeth, “He made me look into the oblivion, I fucking saw the world get eaten by it, every time I wake up I can hear the voices from it beg me to return back to my home-he fucking ruined me for fuck sake, Eric! Does this look like the old me anymore?” His voice was one of a beaten-down man but still filled to the brim with hatred. Eric didn't expect what he’d see under those big glasses of his, even if he tried to look through them, it's like his own eyes wouldn't permit it, but once the glasses came off, it was easy to see what he could see. Eyes, so many damn eyes

The entire section of his face where you’d have two normal eyes was covered albeit he still had the normal two in the places they should, but besides that, they were everywhere underneath his eyes, on his forehead like some sort of God, and most strangely, he could swear every time Cecil blinked he saw another pair of eyes as well. All voided out with black if he strained his eyes hard enough he could see stars as well. Around the edges of his eyes, they blurred out into voided space. It was hard to look away even, Eric crossed his legs and rested his face on his hand.

“Hmm, well you still have the same face, for the most part, your nose still has that little indent in it when you got your nose broken by one of those vigilantes back in the day” Eric sighed in contempt, albeit being a nobody was awful, but those small moments of evil-doing it was fantastic--of course he also got beat an inch to his life that day but beggars can't be choosers he supposed. Cecil’s face scrunched up before softening, he tilted his head.

“Are you blind?” Cecil asked with genuine concern, Eric laughed--he was so dense, same old Cecil. 

“No! But your eyes aren't the worst thing I’ve seen, you're still the same old you--still clever, still have those little scars on your face--if you’d take off your shirt I'm pretty sure you'd still have those homemade chest scars, eh?” Eric stood up, immediately getting into Cecil’s personal space and put a hand on his shoulder, bending down just to meet his height. 

“Niles turned me into this--do I hate him for it? Of course, I do!” he let his hand travel up to Cecil’s cheek, he felt like he had been dead for the past fifty years, “but, I don't hate myself, I hate the man who did this to me--I fucking love myself! What other men can control reality itself? Definitely not any man--the point is, you shouldn't hate yourself, direct your anger at the man who deserves it '' Usually being sentimental wasn't his strong suit however manipulating others was; if you mix two things together like that, you can get a decent result. The expression on Cecil’s face was priceless, all his eyes looked about and he relaxed his muscles at last.

“You saying I should go to therapy?” Eric laughed; clever boy.

“Oh god no, therapy is for people who are weak-willed and who want to be better--you just need to know that you shouldn't hate yourself! Hate Niles, with me, please” Eric fake begged, maybe deep in his own psyche he was actually begging but it didn't matter, Cecil smiled and his eyes finally focused back onto him.

“Tell me I’m good” he stated simply, “get on your knees and tell me I'm good and maybe I'll hate Niles instead of myself” Eric felt his gut twist, and he begrudgingly compiled; getting on his knees and moving his hands to Cecil’s dead hands, grasping them softly. 

“Cecil, you haven't changed a damn bit, I told you all the way back then that you are a wonder and I still mean that. You have more patience for people than I now have and by god, I'm still impressed you knew how to deal with Eric Morden; nowadays I'm not him--” he let out a sigh, “but I still believe that your fantastic, you are the only man I've ever met who expresses his interest in the unknown in such...strange but wonderful ways. To be honest, I would have ended up a bum who doesn't know jack shit if it wasn't for you” Cecil took that falsity hook line and sinker and he laughed. 

“I didn't say kick yourself down a notch for me!” Eric rolled his eyes before bringing himself a bit of pride and stood up, patting him on the back. 

“Does that do? Are you finally, after this long of what--a few decades worth of self hate ready to hate Niles Caulder?” He already knew the answer, he didn't even have to peek into his head to see it. One thing he didn't expect was Cecil to grab his hand and kiss it harshly, which albeit, did make him jump, but that was quickly dealt with when he finally opened his mouth.

“Damn right I am”

Thank god, took him long enough. Perhaps now he’d be able to find Niles a bit more easily, perhaps now he could finally have somebody to agree with on his hatred towards Niles, maybe even, if he played his cards well enough, he could try to get a peek into his head, just a little one, to at least know what he's thinking, but up until then he was stuck as Eric Morden


End file.
